, 1887-12-29
The MARRIAGE oE FLOWERS.


hat with the Secretary of n Horticnl-
tural S~ociety-Thc Chrysanthemum-
John Thorpe is n somewhat tall and
very valuable chrysanthemum, whose
trunk is of brown diagonal, with a calyx
of brown beard under his chin and q
corolla of shrewd and rugged features
which light up with interest when he dis
cusses his ~favorite pursuit. He is the sec
rotary of the New York Horticultural So
ciety. When John Thorpe sits down in
the shadow of a date palm, with two
chrysanthemums about to be married in
his hands, he becomes singularly inter
esting. OF the two chrysanthemums,
the bride is arrayed in spotless white and
the bridegroom in a brilliant vestment OF
red.
"'The marriage of two flowers says
Mr.. Thrope, in n semi-poetic but entirely
practical way, sis exactly like any other
marriage. Most of the flowers on exhi-
bition here are composite varieties, butin
the simple varieties the male and female
flowers are easily and instantly distin-
guished by a practical eye. The develop
ment of crysanthemums is nothing moro
nor less than the breeding of them, and
exactly like the breeding of fine varieties
of stock. Five years age we had nothing
but simple flowers. Now you see the
wonderful variety of shapes and sizes
and colors which has resulted. This has
come from liberalization, and that is done
in this way"
Cutting off the long petals of one of
the flowers, he showed at the base of each
the pollen which had ripened and was
ready to be scattered by the air in the
shape of an impalpable powder. Cutting
away the petals of the other, he brought
to view a multitude of fine stamens,
slightly sticky. Whenever the pollen
powder touches any of these sticky points,
a floral union takes place, and the flower
grown from the resultant seed partakes
of the characteristics of the two which
went to form it.
I'm growing the flowers" Mr.. Thorpe
continued, 1--WE take a fine cancels hair
brush, and with it transfer the pollen
from one flower to the other. This pro-
cess, in nature, is fulfilled by the air, by
insects and in various ways. There are
some flowers which are fortified only at
night by moths. There are others which
are welded only in the day by the but
terflies and the humming birds. When
you think of moths and butterflies ard
humming birds reading marriage serv-
ices over the flowers in a garden there is
quite an opportunity for poetry in flower
culture. The arrangement is sometimes
very wonderful, " he said, taking a quaint
and grotesque orchid in greens and
browns. This flower is self generating,
and the fertilization is carried on by the
ants. The ant can get into this flower
only by going over the pollen cells, and
the pollen clings to him. He can get out
only by passing over those places which
the pollen needs to touch, and for the
new flowers the ant alone is to be
thanked. The same way of developing
flowers can be applied to any variety.
You could breed roses, for instance. The
value OF the chrysanthemums, however,
is that you get your good results in n
year, where, with roses, equally satisfac-
tory results would require five years.
The New York society has gone behind
the Japanese flowers. There is a stand
of them, direct ,mportations, over there.
You a see, however, that in color, size,
and design they do not compare, though
it used to be said, and is still said, that
the Japanese chrysanthemums beat the
world. New York Times.